Okoye: "Mixed Emotions" in Return to Practice

Amobi Okoye practiced on Thursday for the first time this season

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Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Amobi Okoye practiced on Thursday after missing over a year with a rare and serious brain disease, and said the session stirred up a lot of feelings in the former Chicago Bear.

"It was good, it was worth it," Okoye said, per Calvin Watkins of ESPN Dallas. "It was mixed emotions. It felt like it naturally was coming back. I've played six years in the league [and], it doesn't take too long for stuff to come back to you."

Okoye, who missed all of 2013 with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis and even spent a few months in a medically-induced coma, will be eligible to come off the non-football injury list in three weeks. He was signed to a one-year deal by Dallas this offseason, reuniting him with former Bears defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli.

"He's been through a lot," said linebacker Bruce Carter. "His story is amazing. A guy like that who works real hard, I see him all the time working [with strength and conditioning coordinator Mike Woicik] one-on-one. Just to see him actually working with [us] and see it pay off is a great thing. I think he's going to do great things for us."

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